Eden Hazard Refuses to Rule Out Real Madrid Switch and Admits 'You Never Know in Football'

Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard has given fans cause for concern after he refused to rule out the possibility of joining Real Madrid during an interview with Spanish publication Marca.

Hazard has long been linked with a switch to the Bernabeu, with fresh speculation threatening to go into overdrive ahead of this summer as Los Blancos make tough personnel decisions about ageing pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema and injury prone Gareth Bale.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/GettyImages

When asked about Real, Hazard laughed and replied, "In football you never know. I'm happy at Chelsea, and focused on them."

He is know the a keen admirer of Real coach Zinedine Zidane, though. What's more the respect there is certainly mutual and Hazard is flattered whenever the Frenchman praises him.

"I remember 10 years ago, when he first spoke about me, it was incredible," the 27-year-old recalled. "He was my idol when I was a child, I have seen thousands of videos about him and now he is the manager of one of the best clubs in the world, so yes, it is a luxury.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/GettyImages

"But I do not want to stop, I want to continue working and striving in the field and then yes, I love when people like him speak well of me."

On the subject of Chelsea's challenging season, Hazard commented, "We know that the Premier League is very difficult, we have already lost a few games this year and we have three months to go.

"We still have both the FA Cup and the Champions and in the end, our season can be even good. Now we feel bad, but you have to look at how it turns out. We give everything in the field. Sometimes things do not go the way they train, like now, but we have to wait because, in the end, we can still win a trophy."

Catherine Ivill/GettyImages

If Chelsea are to progress in the Champions League, they will have to overcome Barcelona in the last 16 in the coming weeks, an opponent Hazard will become well used to should he move to Spain.

"It's a beautiful match of champions. This season we are not the same as last season, of course, and they are very good of course, but in the end it is a tie and you never know what happens," the Belgian said.

"That's why we love football. I'm pretty sure we can beat them if we play together, and we'll see."